title: Statins, Bcl-2, and apoptosis: cell death or cell protection?
abstract: Statins have proven their effectiveness in the treatment of cardiovascular disease. This class of drugs has also attracted attention as a potential treatment for dissimilar diseases such as certain types of cancers and neurodegenerative diseases. What appears to be a contradiction is that, in the case of cancer, it has been suggested that statins increase apoptosis and alter levels of Bcl-2 family members (e.g., reduce Bcl-2 and increase Bax), whereas studies mainly using noncancerous cells report opposite effects. This review examined studies reporting on the effects of statins on Bcl-2 family members, apoptosis, cell death, and cell protection. Much, but not all, of the evidence supporting the pro-apoptotic effects of statins is based on data in cancer cell lines and the use of relatively high drug concentrations. Studies indicating an anti-apoptotic effect of statins are fewer in number and generally used much lower drug concentrations and normal cells. Those conclusions are not definitive, and certainly, there is a need for additional research to determine if statin repositioning is justified for noncardiovascular diseases.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, VA Medical Center, University of Minnesota School of Medicine, Minneapolis, MN, 55455, USA, woodx002@umn.edu.
authors.forename: W Gibson
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Wood
authors.forename: Urule
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Igbavboa
authors.forename: Walter E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Muller
authors.forename: Gunter P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: Eckert
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects*; D019610:Cytoprotection / Q000187:drug effects*; D006801:Humans; D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology*; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2 / Q000378:metabolism*
chemical_list: D019161:Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors; D019253:Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-bcl-2